WATERLOO – NASA's MAVEN orbiter to Mars is set to launch on Monday, November 18th at 1:28 pm.

Shohini Ghose, director of Laurier's Women in Science Centre (WinS), and Charlotte Armstrong, WinS outreach coordinator, were invited to the Kennedy Space Centre for the launch and will be sharing the experience live on Twitter. According to Ghose, who is now in Florida, the weather is looking good and the launch is scheduled to be on time.

Members of the Laurier community are invited to watch the launch live on NASA TV accompanied by WinS tweets from @LaurierWinS in the Faculty of Science Boardroom, N1046 on Laurier’s Waterloo campus from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 18.

Food and drinks will be provided. The event is sponsored by Laurier's Centre for Women in Science (WinS) Fun Facts:Only 16 missions to Mars have been successfulMars has the largest dust storms in the entire solar systemMAVEN stands for Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution

The Centre for Women in Science was established at Laurier to attract women into science and mathematical/quantitative fields, to support and celebrate women’s contributions to science and mathematical social sciences, and to address challenges women still face in higher education and careers in science. Website: www.wlu.ca/wins